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Akwa Ibom Senators Reject State Elections

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Teddy Oscar, Abuja

Three Senators representing Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday rejected the state gubernatorial and house of assembly election of Saturday, April 11, alleging that there was no election in the state.

The senators subsequently called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reverse the result of the governorship election in the state and reschedule the polls.

The senators, who briefed National Assembly correspondents in Abuja, include: Senator Ita Enang (APC -Akwa Ibom North-East), who said that he did not vote in his polling unit because the result sheets that were presented were mainly photocopies and not the original copies.

“The people of Akwa Ibom State prepared for elections, but the institutions of the state, led by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, prepared for war, came out for war against the people with armed persons. We have course to ask the IG of Police and the authorities of the Armed Forces to investigate whether these persons are men of the Nigeria Police and the Armed Forces.

“In most areas in Akwa Ibom State, including my area, there were no elections. Out of the 15 units in my ward, Ward 2, only two of them were given photocopies of result sheets stapled together. There was no election. So, no result ought to have been declared,.

“Therefore, we are calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to come out clean on this matter. No card reader was used in the state,” he said.

Senator Aloysius Etok (PDP – Akwa Ibom North-West) said that although the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the beneficiary of the announced results, he was representing the yearnings of the people.

He said that the state had been mirrored in a very bad light over the years and had been made worse by the April 11 governorship and state assembly elections.

“As if that was not enough, during the first election on March 28, Akwa Ibom came out in bad light as one of the most talked about bordering on election irregularities and violence. On the 11th of April, Akwa Ibom came out in bad light and having listened to all the comments from stakeholders and observers, as very concerned leaders we need to address the issues.

“As a member of the PDP, I would like election to be freely won, if you lose, you lose gallantly; the process must be credible and transparent. Therefore, on behalf of the National Assembly caucus of the state, I want to say that I am very pained with the way the state has been projected to the world and a state full of violence and irregularities,” he said.

On her part, Senator Helen Esuene (Labour – Akwa Ibom South) said that what happened in the state on April 11 could best be termed “daylight robbery”.

She said that more than half of the polling units in the state did not receive electoral materials, while most of those who received had them were carted away by heavily armed men.

“This year makes 16 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria. We should be improving our democratic processes vis-à-vis the elections and the election processes. I dare say that there has been no progress at all.

“What we experienced on the 11th of April was brazen day light robbery. This is a state where the mantra is: what money cannot do, more money can do it,” she said.

She, therefore, joined other senators form the state to call on INEC to reverse the results and reschedule the elections in the state.

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